Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Tragic Mode of Seneca's Troades

1983; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 12; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0048671x00003623

2202-932X

Marcus Wilson,

Classical Antiquity Studies

Titles count for something. When conferred upon poems and plays they have the capacity both to rouse and to control the expectations of potential readers and spectators. You buy tickets to a performance of the Antigone only to find when you take your seat that it is a modern comedy; whether you are furious or whether you are amused, you are at least surprised. The titles of literary works have implications; they may be designed to entice, to intrigue, to whet the appetite, to shock. Giving something a name enables it to be spoken about as a distinct entity; giving a text a name may also imply some particular fully or partially defined purpose or character. But while titles sometimes describe, they can also mislead. To the minds of critics, titles are apt to suggest certain issues and questions for consideration, but may also tend to discourage the consideration of other issues and questions of equal or even greater importance.